Chapter 140: Role Reversal Between Host and Guest (With Thanks to Pure Black Paradise for the Generous Reward)

Another day passed.

The clear sky stretched endlessly like a vast, tranquil turquoise sea, the intense white light flickering in the air as if gentle ripples had stirred the ocean's surface.

Beside the Luohu train station stood a modest grocery shop owned by Old Xu.

Staring at Old Xu’s bearded, weathered face, Wang Qiang pressed the microphone to his right ear, speaking to Old Zhu on the phone. He had come here to wait for a shipment of four-piece bedding sets, but unexpectedly, the sets had not arrived yet. Old Zhu had called ahead, so Wang Qiang had to step out of the shipping office to make the call.

“Brother Zhu, how many do they want?” Wang Qiang asked.

Old Zhu replied, “Cheng Weihong and the others want a thousand single-unit machines. Oh, and there’s also a new client your dad and I just contacted—he wants 150 CD players. How about that? I’m pretty good at bringing in clients, right?” His tone was proud, as if urging Wang Qiang to praise him.

Wang Qiang, knowing Old Zhu’s character well enough, complimented him, “Brother Zhu, you’re amazing. You’ve brought us some big clients.”

“Haha, that’s right,” Old Zhu said happily, but then his tone turned serious. “Do you have enough funds?”

At the moment, Wang Qiang was certainly short on cash.

After collecting payment for the previous 200 sets of bedding yesterday, he had about twenty thousand yuan left. But Old Zhu had just mentioned orders requiring fifty to sixty thousand yuan. If he wanted to take the goods back now, he’d have to wait for the bedding sets to arrive and then collect payments from those bosses.

Wang Qiang responded with a hum, “Should be enough. I won’t keep you now; I have some things to do.”

“All right, go ahead,” Old Zhu said.

After hanging up, Wang Qiang paid Old Xu for the phone call and hurried toward the station’s shipping office.

He waited anxiously, waiting until one o’clock in the afternoon when the shipment finally arrived. He quickly hailed a van and rushed toward Huaqiangbei.

...

At the entrance of the Jiahua Foreign Trade Clothing Wholesale Market.

Wang Qiang sat in the front passenger seat of the van, ready to have the driver pull inside, when he suddenly saw a group of people standing at the gate—Boss Ding, Boss Tan, Boss Lu’s wife, and others—all eagerly waiting, their eyes fixed expectantly.

“Driver, stop,” Wang Qiang said.

The stout driver acknowledged and gently pressed the brake to halt the vehicle, then engaged the handbrake.

Wang Qiang opened the door and jumped out. Before he could speak, the group surged forward and surrounded him, all talking at once.

“I was worried you wouldn’t come,” Boss Ding exclaimed anxiously.

Boss Tan complained, “You said noon, and now it’s already past. The customers are getting impatient.”

Sister Wang loudly called for quiet. The crowd fell silent, and then she said something that nearly made everyone faint: “Boss Wang, bring the goods inside first.”

“Why you first?” someone challenged.

“I came here first recently,” another chimed in.

Watching the ruckus, Wang Qiang couldn’t help but smile wryly. He quickly stepped in to calm them. “The goods are all in the van. Don’t worry, one at a time.” He opened the rear door of the van.

Still, the bosses rushed forward eagerly, grabbing the goods. Their customers had been waiting in the shops for a long time, and if the goods weren’t delivered soon, someone would be responsible if they left.

Wang Qiang had no choice but to manage the situation. He distributed fifty sets of polyester-cotton and fifty sets of pure cotton four-piece bedding sets to each person.

Since they were outside, he didn’t collect payment for now, asking everyone to first bring the goods into their stores and give them to their customers. They could pay later, all together, at Boss Ding’s shop.

The group made several trips back and forth moving the goods.

After the last batch was moved, Wang Qiang casually helped Boss Ding carry a bundle of bedding sets inside.

Very close by.

Turning right upon entering, a few steps led to Boss Ding’s shop.

Inside Boss Ding’s shop.

Wang Qiang, chatting and laughing with Boss Ding, stepped inside and saw four or five people waiting.

One young man wearing a gray vest and shirt, looking refined and cultured, approached and said, “Mr. Ding, please give me twenty sets first. The company car is still waiting outside.”

Boss Ding immediately responded, “Okay, Teacher Yu, I’ll get them for you first.” Then he signaled the others, “Teacher Yu lives farther away; please wait a moment.”

“No problem, just give it to him first.”

“As long as I get a set, that’s fine.”

Everyone understood.

Boss Ding had Wang Qiang help by pulling twenty sets of various colors from the pure cotton stock, bundling them with a red plastic strap and handing them to Teacher Yu.

Teacher Yu paid thirteen hundred yuan and left with the bedding sets.

Then the other four customers each took some bedding sets: a woman took six sets, a young woman took four, and two others each bought one set.

After the customers left, Wang Qiang pulled a stool and sat by the counter. “Business is good, Boss Ding.”

Boss Ding wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked behind the counter, smiling, “Not bad. My wife brought in a big client.”

“Your wife works in the mall?” Wang Qiang asked casually.

Sitting down behind the counter and opening a drawer, Boss Ding replied, “No, she works in marketing at a branch of the Giant Group. That Teacher Yu just now is from their purchasing department. Since Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, she recommended to the company to send bedding sets as gifts to the executives. She made a good impression, and Director Shi from headquarters approved it, so Teacher Yu came to pick up twenty sets.”

Director Shi?

Shi Yuzhu from Giant Group?

Wang Qiang knew the Giant Group’s headquarters had started in Shenzhen but later moved to Zhuhai, with a branch still in Shenzhen. What surprised him was that Boss Ding’s wife worked in marketing for Giant Group.

Boss Ding continued, “She only made that impression because of you.”

Wang Qiang was puzzled, “How am I involved?”

Boss Ding peeked outside to make sure no one was around, then lowered his voice, “My wife’s company is diversifying into real estate, health products, and pharmaceuticals. Don’t tell anyone this, but their marketing department couldn’t come up with a good plan. A few days ago, she saw a report about our wholesale market in the Shenzhen Evening News and said it was your marketing strategy. She used it as inspiration and proposed it in the company. Surprisingly, it passed immediately. Hey, was that your idea, having the Shenzhen Evening News report about our wholesale market?”

So that was it. Wang Qiang chuckled silently, neither confirming nor denying. But he wondered if the nationwide advertising blitz by the Giant Group later on had copied his idea. Then he dismissed the thought—since in his previous life, the Giant Group had started that campaign next year, and he had just been reborn this time; it was impossible.

Though Wang Qiang didn’t admit it, Boss Ding assumed he agreed and laughed, “So it really was you? When my wife first said it was you, I didn’t believe it. You’re quite clever.” Without giving Wang Qiang a chance to respond, he shifted the topic. “Boss Wang, I want to discuss something with you.”

“What is it?” Wang Qiang asked.

Boss Ding whispered conspiratorially, “Can you prepare two or three hundred more sets of bedding in the next few days? Preferably some higher-grade ones too. I might have a market for them.”

Wang Qiang was curious, “What market?”

“Hong Kong,” Boss Ding explained. “I have a relative there. Last night she called me and heard the bedding sets are so cheap. She wants to invest in opening several specialty bedding stores in Hong Kong. I’m not sure if you have that many goods, so I didn’t commit immediately. If you can get them, I’ll notify her; if not, I’ll decline.”

Wang Qiang, never one to refuse business, said, “There are ordinary polyester-cotton and pure cotton sets, and several higher grades. The best are silk four-piece sets, then color-woven ones…” He listed all the types along with their supply prices.

“As long as you have stock, that’s fine. I’ll call her tonight and get back to you.” After a pause, Boss Ding added, “Between yesterday’s orders and those taken just now, if you give me a hundred sets, I’ll only have about forty left. Since you have the goods, send me a hundred polyester-cotton and a hundred pure cotton sets. I think the bedding business has potential.”

“No problem, but that’s quite a lot. I’ll need a deposit,” Wang Qiang said.

Boss Ding didn’t hesitate, “How much?”

If the order was small, Wang Qiang might have waived the deposit, but with two hundred sets, what if he never delivered? To be cautious, he decided to charge a deposit—“Thirty percent of the payment.”

“I’ll calculate,” Boss Ding said, taking out a notebook and pen, scribbling and tallying.

Wang Qiang had already done the math mentally and was about to speak when voices arguing outside interrupted.

“Boss Wang!”

“We’re here!”

“Bring us some more bedding sets!”

“Yes, a hundred sets aren’t nearly enough!”

Boss Lu’s wife, Sister Wang, and Sister Qiu, among nearly ten others, rushed into Boss Ding’s shop, crowding the counter.

Surrounded in the middle, Wang Qiang quickly called for order and collected payments from everyone, including Boss Ding, totaling forty thousand yuan.

After counting the money, Wang Qiang put it into his inner jacket pocket.

No one left. Sister Qiu was the first to speak, “Are you really out of stock?”

“There is stock, but it’ll take three or four days,” Wang Qiang replied.

“Three or four days is fine, safer that way. Send me a hundred sets,” Sister Qiu said.

Sister Wang added, “I want another 150 sets.”

Boss Lu’s wife was bolder, “I want 250 sets.”

Others each stated their required quantities.

“Two hundred sets.”

“I’ll take fewer, a hundred sets.”

“One hundred eighty sets.”

They had just taken half their orders earlier and naturally knew the bedding sets sold well. Not because the bedding was especially sought after, but because these inexpensive sets were snapped up quickly. Wang Qiang was truly conscientious—in today’s world, transporting southern goods to the north or vice versa, unless the profit was 200%, one wasn’t a proper merchant. Yet he insisted on modest profits, earning just 100%, so his prices were cheaper than others, leading to bustling business.

In fact, Wang Qiang had anticipated their increased orders. Seeing everyone place demands, he borrowed a pen and notebook from Boss Ding and tallied. The total was one thousand four hundred and fifty sets—six hundred and fifty polyester-cotton and eight hundred pure cotton sets.

After tallying, Wang Qiang said, “No problem, but I must emphasize, this time I’ll need a 30% deposit.”

“Ah?”

“Still a deposit?”

“If you don’t take the goods, what do I do?”

Sister Wang questioned sharply.

Wang Qiang was blunt, looking her over, “If you’re afraid I won’t deliver, you don’t have to take the goods.”

Earlier, he had begged others to take the stock because the market was unestablished. Now, having worked hard to open up the bedding market at Jiahua Clothing Wholesale Market, his tone was firm.

This was a seller’s market.

Having the goods meant power; take it or leave it. The roles had reversed.

Sister Wang smiled sheepishly, “I’m not saying we won’t take them, just surprised by the sudden deposit. Okay, calculate how much, and I’ll get it for you.”

Others, like Boss Lu’s wife and Sister Qiu, quickly agreed. They all knew well there were plenty of people lining up to get four-piece bedding sets; no one wanted to miss out.

Wang Qiang calculated the deposits and told everyone.

They all went to fetch the money.

After about ten minutes, the bosses hurriedly returned with the deposits, as if fearing Wang Qiang would change his mind if they were late.

Finally, the four-piece bedding sets had gained a solid footing in the Jiahua Wholesale Market. Wang Qiang breathed a sigh of relief. It was time to consider what else to do once the company was up and running—besides dealing in electronics wholesale, he couldn’t abandon the bedding sets. After all, finding a sales channel in Shenzhen had been hard. But bedding wasn’t his only option. When he heard about the Giant Group earlier, he thought of adding one or two projects to the company he was about to register. He had a vague plan, but whether it could be carried out required discussing with Old Zhu and Old Yao. After all, the company wasn’t his alone; they had to agree before moving forward.